Jimmy Durante

I was riding on a bus early one hangover morning, going into Buffalo from Tonawanda to look for a job. I saw a peaceful little chapel in a graveyard across the road. I asked the driver to stop and I went across and into the unlocked chapel. There were just three or four pews on each side of the aisle. The colored light rays coming through the stained glass windows gave it the mood I needed at that point in my life, serenity. I got a job at the cemetery just so I could eat lunch in the chapel.

Misty Morgan and I were never Nashville insiders, and we never got paid for most of our efforts, but for some reason we still love our work, and will never retire. We’re waiting for some excitement… a tour… the Big Break.

HOW WE GOT TOGETHER… Misty and I were aware of each other because we both played piano in Hollywood FL and our pictures were often in the paper. I went to a club where she had her band, and checked her out. I made a date with her, and she stood me up because her friends had told her I was a gangster, which wasn’t true. I just worked for them.

A few months later we were both playing piano bars in downtown Hollywood, on US #1, about a block apart. I dropped in on my club on my night off to see how they were doing, and Misty was talking to my boss, trying to get my job. We began seeing a lot of each other.

The boss told Misty that he was happy with me on piano, but he invited her to stay and have dinner. It was a first class Italian restaurant called The Copa. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jimmy Durante all dropped in when in town. I met Joe DiMaggio there and had dinner with him. Misty and I tried working together and wound up homeless on the street for a while. Then we lived happily ever after.

I was playing at a piano bar in Hollywood. On a break, a woman at a table alone, called me over. She motioned to me to lean down so she could whisper something to me. She said softly “You think you’re so hot playing up there being the center of attention. Well, I think your music stinks and I don’t like your hair.” I jumped back and shouted “FIFTY DOLLARS?!” Then SHE was the center of attention.

IN ONE YEAR AND OUT THE OTHER. I’m blessed… to have Misty as a life partner. I’m hopeful… that we make our music together for many more years. I’m lucky…to have so many helpful friends, many of whom I’ve never met face to face. This may or may not be the best year of my life, but I’m glad to be in it.

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